Fay in FLA

Hey, HavanaHolly! I've already posted in Renea's thread & also emailed her. It's nice to be back here! ~Fay in FLA

Renea, I emailed you about the spare parts you might be needing. I have abandoned my rescue project due to just being too over-whelmed with the whole thing. I'll build something from scratch with all the replacement parts & left-overs....... someday. Let me know what you need -- I have some extra windows with panes that have "etching" on them. I'm not sure if that part can be safely removed from the sadly-painted frames, but you're welcome to them. I have your window sill, too, I think. (See my email about that.) I also have the hexagonal floor/ceiling piece that you're looking for & will be glad to trace it for you if you still need it. Good luck with your project! Fay in FLA

Peggi, please check your forum inbox -- I've sent you an email. It's about the Brimbles kit, which is why I'm posting in this thread. Hi to everybody! You probably don't remember me since I haven't been here in nearly a year. I was posting about a San Franciscan that I had rescued for $10 & also a Winston house kit that I intended to build. Life got in my way & my minis have been waiting for me for nearly a year now. I hear them crying each time I walk past my work area. I've been keeping up with the Greenleaf newsletter -- very nice! -- and I hope to get back into minis soon. Hugs to all! Fay in FLA

Hi, Sarah. Welcome! Wow, this is really crazy. I heard a couple weeks ago that Charles was taking all the kits off the market for "a few years". Now he's selling them with notes that say "1 of the last 5 in the world" with prices so high they're giving me a nose-bleed! The prices he's got listed are unreal. Two weeks ago he was selling (I'm sorry, I get these 2 house kits mixed up) either the Ashley or the Chelsea on eBay for $18 with free shipping. His eBay name is "estatesinminiature". I'm glad I got the 2 kits I wanted & escaped, just in time, it seems. I think I know somebody who recently built a Bayberry. I'll check & let you know. Maybe you can work something out with them for the instructions. ~Fay in FLA

Holly, do you have any suggestions on where I could see something similar to what you're describing? I know I read something about fake-aging copper with paint. I'm not sure what you mean about the seams & the trim, so a picture would help a lot! Thanks! ~Fay in FLA

Last night I took both the tower bay & the other bay completely apart. I now have...... nothing but the first floor & the spindly base supports underneath. My windows still haven't shipped from DeJoux - it's been less than 48 hours, but I'm so eager to get started! :o I'm going to rebuild the framing under the floor with 1"x3" lumber. It'll be heavier, but I think it's worth it for the sturdiness it will provide. My husband is working on the tower roof. The shingles were a real mess, so he stripped those off, took the pieces apart, and now he's putting copper sheeting over each piece. A copper roof probably isn't the correct thing for the San Franciscan, but if this works I'm going with it. My story is that the house has been moved to a new location & is being remodeled by the young couple who purchased it. (I think they must have won the lottery!!) Rather than a restoration, they are going for an eclectic style which will end up being a very unique house. Their parents were all "flower children" in San Francisco (ahhhhhh, the wonderful carefree 60's), so they grew up with "out there" ideas. I'm researching color schemes & it turns out that Victorian houses were originally quite drab, done mostly in earth tones, like the color of dirt. I saw in another thread (maybe on the old forum) that there are many phases of the Victorian era, which must explain the "painted ladies" that we have today. No new pictures yet -- just imagine a plain base with wood flooring and LOTS of broken pieces of trim laying around my work table. I hope I can put it all back together! ~Fay in FLA

Thank you all for your encouragement! I'm still waiting on the new windows. I found a guy who sells the grooved angle pieces that the tower parts slide down into! I'm really excited about that because I want to do the whole tower & the other bay over from scratch. There actually is a sad story to this house & I'm looking forward to giving it a happy home where it can shine. The lady I got it from bought it to build for her grand-daughter. While the house was being built the child's mother took off with the little girl & hasn't been heard from in over a year. Because there were no papers filed for a divorce or custody --- and they can't be filed now because they can't find her -- no authorities are willing to search for her. And as the grandmother, she has absolutely no rights. I guess her son (the father) can't do anything either because there's no proof that the mother or daughter is in danger, and there's no legal custody arrangement. What a mess! My own son hasn't spoken to us in 6 years & we've heard that he's gotten married & now has a little girl. Maybe some day we'll get to meet her & show her the house. In the meantime, I'm going to fix this house & fill it with little girl dolls who will live happily ever after! ~Fay in FLA

Hi everybody, I got an old San Franciscan - I think it's the 555 model, but if anybody knows for sure, please post the information. I saw it on eBay for "pick up only". It was only about 3-1/2 hours from here, so I put in the lowest bid I could. Seven days later my husband & I spent $35 on gas to go get my $10 house, but I still think it's a really good deal. I have put up an album "~Fay in FLA" with pictures of my progress so far. I knew it was going to need work, but now I'm thinking it's going to be almost a total re-build. Since I've never built a 1/12 scale house - I've only worked in 1/24 - this will be the perfect learning experience for me. I love a challenge! I can picture it in my mind, with dainty trim & beautiful porch railings & a soft color scheme. If you look at the pictures you'll see that I must have a pretty good imagination. The house is a real mess! I hope you enjoy looking at the album. I'll update it as I progress, but right now I'm waiting for a shipment of windows & trims for it. Let me know what you think! (I already know I'm nuts, so you don't need to go there. ) ~Fay in FLA

"Addicted", that was me who mentioned posting on every board I belong to. I posted in another thread that Charles emailed me & said he's been very ill. He ended up shipping my Winston Cottage to me Priority Mail, at his own expense. I'm glad you got your refund. Holly, I think I'll be making a little shop with the house. It's pretty far down my list of projects right now. I'm not sure if I can post a picture here in this thread, but I'll try... OK, it worked! I linked it from my PictureTrail album, but the picture belongs to Estates in Miniature, so please don't link to it or copy it. (Just trying to stay legal here.) ~Fay in FLA

My little Winston cottage arrived a couple days ago. It is SO adorable! Much better than the picture on eBay. Has anyone built one of these? I haven't opened the kit yet -- just in case I end up needing to sell it eventually because I have too many kits!! :lol: It reminds me of an old house here in my little city. There's a street with colorful houses that have been turned into shops. There's a red house that used to sell Christmas items year-round. There's a purple house that was a gift shop but now is a clothing boutique. And someone new in town came in & built 2 more little houses to match the ones already there -- a peach-colored one that was a small restaurant & a blue/gray one that was a potter's studio. Since hurricane Charley a lot of things have changed, but the row of houses is still there, with new owners. Anyway, the Winston reminds me of the purple house, so I think it will be a shop of some kind. I'm not sure of the purple color, though! Maybe it'll be a gift shop so I can put all my extra accessories in it. Am I the only one with a Winston? ~Fay in FLA

Hi, everybody. I want you all to know that I did get my little Winston Cottage & it is adorable! Charles emailed me & said he's been ill. He ended up mailing my Winston (at his own expense) Priority Mail, which cost more than I paid for the kit! I hope you all get your problems with Estates in Miniature & DollProperties.com straightened out. If you keep emailing, politely, I think you will eventually hear from Charles. I did mention that I belong to several online groups with over a thousand total members, and that we DO talk to each other. I don't know if that helped, but I got my house kit & I'm very happy. I believe in posting the good news, as well as the bad, so I wanted you all to know that I had a good outcome with Estates in Miniature on eBay. ~Fay in FLA

I can't believe this! I just bid on a McKinley kit and got it on eBay for only $36! I'm so excited! Tracy, I wouldn't have even thought of getting it if I hadn't seen yours with the stone on the front porch. I didn't even know it HAD a front porch until I saw yours. Doing the happy dance! ~Fay in FLA

I just did something really dumb, but I hope it turns out OK. I saw the Dura-craft Winston dollhouse kit on eBay & fell in love with the tiny little thing. So I bought it.... from our pals at Estates in Miniature. I said I wouldn't order from them again, and I won't be buying off their dollproperties.com website, for sure. But I paid for this house with Paypal, and I'm going to trust that eBay and Paypal will back me up if I don't get the kit. What's really sad is that I haven't gotten my money back from them yet....... but it hasn't been 5 business days, so I'm hoping they won't rip me off. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I really want this little cottage. :lol: ~Fay in FLA I just want everyone to know --- I just got my refund credit from dollproperties!! ;) Now I feel way better about buying the Winston cottage kit on eBay. ~Fay in FLA

I'm sorry I can't help with your parts, but I also have had a bad experience with dollproperties.com in the last month. They took my money & never mailed my items. After more than a dozen emails & a threat to post on every message board I belong to, I received a short note saying that my order was cancelled & my money would be on my credit card in 5 business days. I don't know what's going on with these people, but they are still selling on eBay - nearly giving house kits away. Their telephone number is no longer listed on their site. I'm a really nice, patient person, but I had to resort to threats to get any action. I'm not suggesting you do the same (because I really AM a nice person), but if that's what it takes..... Good luck! ~Fay in FLA